89 FR 48674
DOI proposed to revise seven categorical exclusions under NEPA in the Bureau of Reclamation’s NEPA implementing procedures.
DOI proposed to revise seven categorical exclusions under NEPA in the Bureau of Reclamation’s NEPA implementing procedures.
United States v. Union Carbide Corp., No. 1:24-cv-01463 (D. Colo. May 23, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, settling CERCLA defendants must pay $600,000 to reimburse response costs incurred at the Uravan Uranium Project Superfund Site in Montrose County, Colorado, and to comply with institutional controls and other requirements for property owned within the site.
A district court denied policy groups' request to preliminarily enjoin construction of a wind energy project off the coast of Virginia. The groups argued the project should be enjoined until NMFS updates its biological opinion to include an analysis of the cumulative effects of other offshore wind p...
The Ninth Circuit, 2-1, reversed summary judgment for the Forest Service in a challenge to its approval of a mineral exploration project on land in Inyo National Forest. Environmental groups argued the Service violated NEPA by combing two categorical exclusions (CEs) when neither alone could be invo...
The Fifth Circuit, 2-1, affirmed two district courts' orders remanding to state court lawsuits brought by Louisiana parishes against various oil and gas companies. The parishes initially sued in state court, arguing the companies violated Louisiana’s State and Local Coastal Resources Management Ac...
FERC amended its regulations governing applications for permits to site electric transmission facilities under the Federal Power Act, as amended by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, and amended its NEPA procedures.
United States v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., No. 4:23-cv-00517 (N.D. Ohio May 23, 2024). In connection with the February 3, 2023, train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a proposed consent decree requires a settling CWA and CERCLA defendant to (1) reimburse all response costs incurred by the United States; (2) pay a civil penalty of $15 million; (3) establish a $25 million community health program for qualifying members of the public impacted by the derailment; (4) implement an array of specified rail safety procedures; (5) develop and adopt programs for coordination of rail track restoration and vent and burn procedures; (6) implement a $6 million local waterways remediation plan; (7) pay $175,000 for natural resource damages; and (8) implement compliance and future monitoring requirements.
The Seventh Circuit reversed a district court's preliminary injunction prohibiting approval of a proposed land exchange in Wisconsin for construction of a high-voltage electric transmission line that would run through the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. The appellate court...
The D.C. Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Army Corps of Engineers and NMFS in a challenge to approval of a dredging project in Puerto Rico's San Juan Bay. Environmental groups argued the agencies failed to take the necessary "hard look" at the project's environmental effect. The district co...
DOE announced the availability of the preliminary list of potential national interest electric transmission corridors, the designation of which would focus public and policymaker attention on the areas of greatest transmission need and unlock valuable federal financing and permitting tools to advance transmission development.